


Bite the Bullet

by simonlovelazy



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Betaed, Car Chases, Contract Killers, F/M, Guns, Shooting, Violence, all the sexual innuendos, handcuffs and stuff, nothing too too explicit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:27:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22705456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simonlovelazy/pseuds/simonlovelazy
Summary: Some people have more reasons to complain about their job than others.AU where MC is a contract killer
Relationships: Choi Saeran/Main Character, Choi Saeran/Original Character(s), Choi Saeran/Reader
Comments: 5
Kudos: 46





	Bite the Bullet

**Author's Note:**

> Have a lovely Valentine's Day! ♥️♥️♥️
> 
> A story written last year for Unknown Zine

With each turn, he wandered farther from the noise of the main street, and deeper into the forgotten parts of the city. The light from the scarce street lamps glided over the puddles and shook under his heavy boots. No one passed next to him in the narrow alleys, but he knew he wasn’t alone. Maybe this was what the prospective believers felt when he was running the “background check” on them – the intangible impression that a pair of eyes was fixed on their every movement, the rising sense of panic as they felt the phantom of his breath on their necks. But with the subtle difference that he couldn’t be more unfazed.

“It’s a good place, don’t you think?” Unknown said, turning lazily.

And there she was, his shadow, with her little mouth wide open in shock. Her hands, in turn, they didn’t even budge, the gun steady in their clasp. Unknown had to admit he was a bit surprised too – that a frail thing like that could have a reason and the nerve to try to eliminate him.

“Not much of a talker, huh? Or are you scared of me?” Carefully leaving the blind spot, and making sure his face was not exposed, he edged closer to her. The girl stood firmly with her gun still pointed at his head. _Interesting_ “I like it here because it never feels alone, you know?”

She visibly faltered, but wouldn’t look away from him. He wasn’t dealing with a _complete_ newbie.

“Cameras. It’s the back of a pawn shop, after all.”

Recognition lit up her eyes, and she peeked behind him, just to find the ruthless lens staring straight at her.

He towered before her after closing the remaining distance in one leap. His one hand grabbed her chin in a way far from affectionate, while the other dismissively pushed the silencer aside. “You can’t shoot me here, sweetheart,” Unknown whispered in her ear.

She yelped in surprise when he yanked the gun completely out of her grasp, twisting her wrist in the process. And he didn’t stop there, having tucked her pistol next to his own, he continued squeezing her bones even tighter, just for emphasis. “Give me one reason why I should let you live.”

“It’s n-not personal.” _Oh? Difficulties speaking with your jaw crushed?_

“Let me go, and I’ll tell them I finished the job. That you’re dead. Just lie low for some time,” she continued despite his increasingly apparent amusement. “Okay, listen, I know who’s next.”

 _Lies, lies, lies. It’s even cute, in a way_. _She really thinks she can get away with this._

“Who sent you?” Another squeeze.

“I never met him directly. All I got was your photo, the date, and the place; all delivered to me by some unimportant minion.”

“Do you think I’m stupid? They told you about other targets, but you conveniently don’t even know who you’re working for?!”

“I don’t work for any organisation, but I do have ears, and I can put two and two together.”

“That’s even better. It means no one’s gonna miss you.”

There was a squeak, followed by the sound of metal slamming against the brick wall.

“Hey, kids! Why are you snooping around in here? Get out!”

All Unknown got to do was to rearrange his hold on the girl in a less suspicious way before he glared at the clerk standing in the door behind him. She stumbled back when he let her free.

“I’d show you how it’s supposed to be done, but it’s not my call. We’ll go on a ride instead; I want you to meet someone.”

* * *

“Are you serious?”

“It’s really not the time to act like a princess,” her kidnapper hissed in annoyance. “I’ll kindly remind you that I have two guns, and you have none. Do you really think you’re in a position to make a fuss?”

“But you can’t kill me, now can you? You still need to wait for your boss’ orders, _sweetheart._ ” MC knew she was pushing her luck with him, and hell, he really did have two guns, but it was still worth a shot. He couldn’t do anything to her till they got there – wherever this “there” was – and the more information she gathered before that, the better.

“I would be nicer to my future interrogator. And a bit more convincing – I don’t buy a word you’ve said so far.” There was no other addition, but a frown when he bent over the stick to cuff her.

“So you just so _happen_ to have handcuffs at hand. Wait, I see – you’re _this_ type.”

A stern warning lingered in his eyes. His hands were just as cold as they were in the alley, and not a tad more delicate. There was no point in fighting just yet. Soon, her hand hung limply from the handle at his car’s door as if she was trying to get some breeze under her armpits or whatnot.

He reassumed his place behind the wheel, turning the key in the ignition. A little dice dangled from its end. _Classy_.

“They weren’t meant for you.”

MC smiled wickedly. “Ouch. That’s not what a girl wants to hear. You could at least pretend I’m special.”

Her kidnapper turned to her quickly with a deadpan expression, before the car finally kicked in to the motion, and they left the parking lot with a crunch of gravel under the tyres.

“Where are you taking me?”

“You really don’t seem to get the situation, so I’ll spell this once more for you. _You_ don’t get to ask questions.” He was squeezing the hell out of that wheel. “You’ve been following me for the whole day. Why?” 

MC looked down on the frills of her dress, trying to burn the whole thing with her stare. She had really gone through this dumb masquerade for nothing, didn’t she? “They said it’s 3 million wons extra for every detail about you. Where you go, who you’re meeting up with – things like that. I was supposed to wait with the rest of the job for the moment when you’re done in the city.”

She could no longer recognise the landscape blurring behind him in the car window.

He slowly shook his head, “It means they don’t even kno —”

The momentary chaos was all too familiar – a gunshot and a jolt when the bullet pierced through the bodywork startling the driver, who almost lost control of the vehicle. MC lurched forward on instinct, tugging painfully at her right wrist. Obviously, it would still be too late to save her, had the shot been accurate. Not that she was the target.

“Who are they?!” Her kidnapper’s voice was unusually high-pitched.

She glanced briefly at him – and, wow, he got paler, if that was even physically possible. Then, sitting up a bit, she checked the wing mirror. A black, shiny beast – at least two classes better than their car – right on their tail, with a barrel sticking out from the driver’s side.

“No clue! Gimmie my gun back!”

“So that you can finish your job? No fucking way! I will lose them.” He stepped on the gas.

“It’s just one guy, and he’s also driving – I can handle him. Just give me the gun already! It’s our best shot!”

MC was jolted against the door as the car turned, screeching in the last moment. Getting herself in place again, she fastened the seatbelt, going below her hanging arm. The good thing was that the streets were unusually busy for this hour, the bad thing – well, their excuse of a car wasn’t exactly a racer.

“How do they know I’m still alive?” her driver yelled over the engine, weaving between the cars.

MC scratched her chin absently. “They could send someone to check on me, but it only happens when... just who the hell are you?”

“Maybe you’ll live long enough to find out.” The way he said it, there could be a hint of a sardonic smile under his mask, but, really, there was no way of knowing.

“Well,” MC started, looking behind, but there was no shooter to be seen. “The money they offered for you seemed a bit too good to be true. Or easy.”

“Was it worth it?”

“Let’s say I’m having second thoughts right now.”

“Shit.”

It was almost too late when he noticed the side road. The sharp turn didn’t send her flying like the last time, but the car skidded on the slippery surface, nearly crashing into the pick-up on the adjacent lane. The loud thudding of MC’s heartbeat accompanied the honking of the annoyed driver they left behind.

Reckless as it was, it seemed that the sudden change of the route did the trick. They had been driving for at least 15 minutes without anyone trying to shoot them. Having got out of immediate danger, MC started to consider her options regarding the danger seated next to her. He turned into another desolate, outgrown road with determination that led her to believe that the meeting point with his boss was closer than she’d like.

“We’re out of petrol.” Her kidnapper announced in disbelief. “That bastard must’ve got the fuel tank.”

“How much more?”

“Nothing. We’re running on fumes.”

MC closed her eyes and put all the irritation that had built-up in the last 24 hours into a solid kick on the dashboard. He merely eyed the muddy footprint adorning his glove box.

And then, the car stopped.

The palms of his hands banged on the wheel as he exhaled heavily. He took the keys out and left without a word.

MC opened the door on her side and straightened her back with a groan. It was dawning already; the plane of navy blue shyly paled on the horizon. There was nothing around except for the waist-high grass smothering the road from the both sides. And no one in sight.

“Hey! Didn’t you forget about something?” She jingled her handcuffs.

The kidnapper had already managed to walk away quite a bit down the road. “No, I don’t think so,” he replied, without slowing down.

She cursed under her breath, looking around for anything to pick the lock with. But even if she found it, she still had no car keys, no clue where she was... “Wait! I know who’s next! And more things too!”

If he said anything, she couldn’t hear it.

“They said that when they’re done with you, they just have to deal with ‘the other one.’” With one foot on the asphalt and the other one pushing at the door, MC tried to rip off the handle in the final act of desperation. She turned her head to gauge his reaction. “Does it mean anything to you?”

All she could notice from that distance was that he was facing her, motionless in the middle of the road. One quick movement of his hand, and the mask fell to the ground. He rubbed his face as if he were trying to wake up. But suddenly, something came over him, and he was running back in her direction. It took one glance behind her back to realise why he was in a rush.

The hitman was back.

“Hurry up! Faster!”

Her kidnapper-turned-saviour was next to her in no time.

“Shit. Shit.” He was visibly struggling with the little key. “Don’t think it changes anything between us. You’re still going to the questioning.”

“Can’t wait," she said with a dangerous sparkle in her eye.

The car was getting so close, they could hear it roaring. There was no time to lose, but something with the lock was clearly off.

It was an odd moment for an even weirder thought, the guy without his mask looked much younger than she had initially suspected him to be. He simply didn't belong here.

Someone shut the door mere steps away from them.

They were shielded by their own door, and now it was really a matter of seconds; he froze when MC snuggled against his torso, reached behind his belt, pulled the gun out, and leaning out of the cover, fired three silent shots.

The man fell to the ground in an instant. She came up to the body as close as the handcuffs let her. About 35 years old, average-looking. She’d never seen him before. Two wounds – one in the shoulder, another in his neck. She could have done better, but it wasn’t half bad for a right-handed person under pressure.

“Why?”

MC took her eyes off the corpse. Her kidnapper leant against the side of his car. His dilated pupils were glued to her with a sense of restlessness.

“Why did you do that?” When he spoke, there was a miniscule quiver to his lips.

“Would you rather have him kill both of us, or...?” It was his first body. This discovery was surprising, considering how he’d been trying to intimidate her this whole time.

He nervously grimaced. They were holding each other at gunpoint. Would he really be able to pull the trigger?

"They will come searching for you,” he stated.

“Not if I finish the job now.”

“Don’t,” he said quickly, “you can work for me.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “What can you offer me? Health insurance? Early retirement?”

“The person that hired you is one of the most powerful people in this country. And he already knows that you failed once.” He motioned to the steady trickle of blood seeping from the corpse and running downhill. “Do you really think he’ll take a chance that you haven’t made a deal with me?”

 _Unbelievable_. “So, what’s the offer?”

“We can help each other. I could make use of your personal... talents, and in return, you will be more than safe in Mint Eye.”

He stiffened when she moved her gun and put it back in its place. MC stretched out her left hand, “Deal.”

He shook it with an enigmatic smile.

"What are we doing about him?”

“Well, no one is going to look for him, I can guarantee you this. My bullets are untraceable, but the car...”

“That won’t be a problem,” he said, taking out his phone. “We’re not that far from Mint Eye.”

* * *

With the body happily pushed into the grass, they sat on the bonnet and waited for transport. The relief was unreal when MC rubbed the red marks on her wrist. That is, until her new boss tugged her other hand and clasped it together with his.

“You can’t be serious.”

“Easy, princess, it’s just a cover story for when they come here.”

MC raised her eyebrows, “Kinky.”

They stared for a while at the sun languidly making its way up above the fields of green. Both of them tired of this day beyond words.

“What kind of job do you need me for anyway?”

He dragged on his cigarette with an expression of utter seriousness. “You will be my personal assistant.”


End file.
